Hey all, totally new member to the forum and I thought I'd share this project before it goes out to the rest of the world. I was commissioned to build this arcade for SketchUp. I had a blast doing it. Here's a walk-through video of how it works:

This cabinet was designed and built by me. I had an absolute blast building it and I'd be happy to share any questions/share knowledge with anyone who's interested. The key that made this successful was using a CNC machine. I was able to do so much of the design work in the computer and after I milled it, assembly was really fast. Oh yeah, it shoots fog too!

I'm going to be posting all of the cut files in the coming month for it (once I get it all documented) But if there's anyone who has questions I'll answer them!

So as far as fog machines.. This was a really tricky thing to do, way trickier than I thought it was going to be.

The nozzle on the end of the fog machine is really tiny, so I thought I could use beverage hose to pipe the fog anywhere I wanted. I originally had plans of it shooting out different tiny ports around the machine. Turns out tiny hoses don't work too well. I went to larger PVC pipes and they worked better as you can see in this video:

I then added a few more bends so I could tuck the fog machine out of the way. Turns out fog doesn't like to go around too many corners or it condenses.

I then re-worked the piping again, even going so far as to add a 3D printed inline booster fan. That, along with drilling some strategic air inlet holes in the pipe got me the nice blast of fog you see in the final product.

The fog still wasn't over. Fog machines get hot. That I knew, but since this machine is going to run for long periods of time I was worried that one day someone would forget to fill it with fog fluid and the heater element would run dry and overheat. The electronics were configured to power off the fog machine after periods of non use so that it can't be left on overnight.

I'm definitely not saying don't do it, but if you do, don't underestimate how long it will take you like I did!

That was a really awesome video. I saw it in the main forum thread. I suggest that you rename the subject line to something less generic, such as "Commissioned SketchUp Arcade cabinet that runs SketchUp" because I skipped over your thread initially because the title "My first arcade machine!" could mean anything, such as: "newbie wants ideas for his/her first cab" or "I just found a gutted big blue that I want to MAME!" etc.

Vidiot, that's exactly the idea. We want kids to have a great time using this thing. What I didn't show in the video is that there are actual games you can play in SketchUp in 3D, all based on a gaming physics engine. The buttons that toggle off the red filter and scanlines are for more "adult" people that would like to see exactly how the software works

I'm working on building a few different games now for it. I've got one where you can drive a car around a 3D race track. Anyone can drop objects as obstacles for the car.

We just need a easy guide to know how to use sketch up without all the bells smoke and whistles.

Logged

"I really do feel pity for those who go out of their way to perform a personal slight, than taking the effort in joining the conversation and creating some useful dialogue which would benefit the persons' perusal of this topic. Yet where would we be without the persistant antagonist?"

Hey all, totally new member to the forum and I thought I'd share this project before it goes out to the rest of the world. I was commissioned to build this arcade for SketchUp. I had a blast doing it. Here's a walk-through video of how it works:

This cabinet was designed and built by me. I had an absolute blast building it and I'd be happy to share any questions/share knowledge with anyone who's interested. The key that made this successful was using a CNC machine. I was able to do so much of the design work in the computer and after I milled it, assembly was really fast. Oh yeah, it shoots fog too!

I'm going to be posting all of the cut files in the coming month for it (once I get it all documented) But if there's anyone who has questions I'll answer them!

Very cool Toast.... welcome to the boards!

Logged

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

I figured making arcade cabinet boxes isn't exactly going to be the next Apple

I'm going to share my cut files soon (once they are cleaned up) so that folks with a CNC can cut it. If there's a need I'd be interested in making blank (non SketchUp) versions of this box if there was a need.